PKW Farms response to Covid-19

Farmers all over New Zealand kept the wheels of the industry turning throughout the Covid-19 lockdown, and PKW’s kaimahi were no different.

“The dedication and commitment our people showed towards the business and their animals was evident in their response to the pandemic,” says Shane Miles, General Manager Ahuwhenua. “I really want to acknowledge the effort that each and every person put into their mahi during this time.”

Farming was designated an essential business during the Alert Level 4 restrictions, meaning that PKW managers and their staff were on farm each day.

“Our top priority during this time was the care of our animals and keeping our staff safe when they came to work,” says Shane. “So we followed all the protocols laid down about social distancing and made sure that sanitisation of equipment and people was effective.”

While the day-to-day running of each farm was not overly affected by the lockdown, the fast-changing situation meant there was some doubt of the accessibility of support services.

“The biggest challenge we faced was dealing with the probability that there could be restrictions on some of our key support services, such as plumbers, vets, electricians and so on,” explained Shane. “We worked with these on-farm service partners to identify what our farms would need and what solutions were available and found solutions to the problem before it became an issue.”

“These preparations began before the Prime Minister’s announcement and made a huge difference in the way our farms were able to keep the wheels turning in a time when everything else ground to a halt.”

The pandemic came on top of a major drought, making already challenging farming conditions harder.

“Resilience is a very necessary quality to being a farmer, and our team just got on with the job in hand,” says Shane. “Their contribution to the business should not be underestimated as production stayed on track and on budget throughout the whole crisis.”

“Covid-19 helped people realise just how important farming is to the economic success of the country because it doesn’t stop, regardless of what is going on in the world. There was a lot of talk about the ‘new normal’ but for our kaimahi it was just business as usual.”